Chicago Dance Month: 2 Weeks Left, Leap into Spring!

Spring has arrived in Chicago and there's so much to celebrate, from blooming
flowers to the sunshine and blue skies peeping out from behind the clouds.
Chicago Dance Month — which kicked off April 1 — ushers in spring with over 50 performances, classes, open rehearsals and more. Here are five ways
to literally leap into spring during Chicago Dance Month.

Catch a free or budget-friendly performance.

There are so many free or low-cost performances on the menu
for Chicago Dance Month, there's no excuse not to catch a show
or two, or three. Check out the Hot Deals, which will be
updating daily throughout the month, for promo codes that will save you even
more money as you book tickets.

*** Look for the double dollar symbol $$ for the Special Chicago Dance Month "Hot Deal" Discounts (20-50% off). All discounts are available on SeeChicagoDance.com.

STOMP your way through a 6-part showcase.

The Chicago Human Rhythm Project (CHRP), the nation's premier presenter of American tap dance and international contemporary percussive arts, presents its 2nd annual citywide STOMPING GROUNDS series. Showcasing African, Irish, Mexican, Spanish, Japanese and American cultural traditions, this multi-performance event celebrates the rhythmic arts with six free events in six distinct communities. Each features a host company, a guest company and featured artists, along with a Q&A with the artists, food trucks and costume exhibitions. Coming up:

Explore the diversity and magic of female artistry.

Audience Architects will host a special Moving Dialogs event Tuesday, April
26 at ARTSPACE 8. "Women in the Director's Chair Featuring Virginia Johnson"
explores how the diversity of female artistry and more equitable representation
of the female voice in dance leads to tremendous discovery. Moderated by
choreographer and former Artistic Director of Kansas City Ballet William
Whitener, panelists include Artistic Director of Dance Theatre of
HarlemVirginia Johnson, Founder and Artistic Director of Ensemble Español
Spanish Dance Theater Dame Libby Komaiko, Artistic Director of Ensemble Español
Spanish Dance Theater Irma Suarez Ruiz and, via skype, New Artistic Director of
the Washington Ballet Julie Kent.

Take a class or workshop.

Chicago Dance Month is the perfect opportunity to dust off your dance shoes and
get moving again, or explore a style of dance that you've never dared to try.
From tap to jazz to hip hop to aerial dance, there's a class for every interest
on the workshop menu, many free and all taught by some of Chicago's most
incredible dancers. Check out seechicagodance.com/class for
the full list of classes.

Author: Amy Bizzarri

Amy Bizzarri is a freelance writer specializing in family fun and travel, a Chicago public schools world language teacher, and an avid reader. She lives with her two kids – a tween boy and a toddler girl – in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago. Follow Amy and her adventures in Chicago and beyond on her personal blog, AmyWrites312.com.